British athletics’ senior administrator has insisted London has “nothing to hide” over its successful bid to stage the 2017 World Championships.
French investigators have opened a preliminary inquiry into the bidding procedure for the 2021 world championships in Eugene, amid allegations global governing body the IAAF was involved in widespread corruption and the covering up of several doping cases.
London defeated Doha in the final vote for the 2017 championships, the Qatari capital being awarded the 2019 edition.
But UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said Friday: “All I know is that London’s bid was completely by the book and through the front door in a classically British way.
“We have nothing to hide and we would be delighted to spend any amount of time going through our processes with the investigators if that helps root out any miscreants.”
Asked if he would be willing to make all of UKA’s relevant emails and documents available to investigators, Warner said: “Absolutely.”
He added: “It’s right that these things are fair battles and the right city wins for the good of the sport and nothing more.
“There has been a very unhealthy smell at FIFA with some of football’s World Cup bids and now it appears there may be some of that stench with some IAAF world championships – and that is very unpleasant.”
The Interpol global police association has issued an international alert for Papa Massata Diack, son of Lamine Diack, the 82-year-former IAAF president now facing corruption and money laundering charges in France.
A World Anti-Doping Agency report published Thursday said that corruption was “embedded” at the IAAF athletics body, piling pressure on its new leader Sebastian Coe.Â
The report said the IAAF must have known about corruption orchestrated by Lamine Diack, and about extensive doping in Russia.
But Richard Pound, the former WADA president who wrote the report, backed Coe, who won gold in the 1500 metres for Britain at both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, as the best person to lead reform of the IAAF. –Â Agence France-Presse
